13 Movies You Really Wanted To Hate (But Actually Couldn’t)
4. Punisher: War Zone
The Punisher should be the easiest of all the comic characters to adapt for a movie, but both the Dolph Lundgren and Tom Jane versions disappointed fans. Jane tried to get a gritty sequel off the ground, but eventually ditched the project after reading a few bad scripts.
When the semi-reboot War Zone was announced, it did little to ease the fears of Punisher fans.
Why You Wanted To Hate It: Frank Castle was cast with Ray Stevenson, a relative unknown at the time. The photos and early trailers made it look like a Joel Schumacher-style neon nightmare, and various stories came out about director Lexi Alexander feuding with Lionsgate over the tone; they’re even rumoured to have tried a PG-13 cut.
The Reasons You Couldn’t: War Zone turned out to be the eighties action movie we needed, and was a gory, over the top delight. Stevenson made for an excellent Punisher, the cinematography looked gorgeous and it had lots of standout moments, like the infamous Freerunner vs Rocket Launcher scene.
It bombed at the time, but is now a beloved cult favourite.